The Orwell Bay Culinary Tour

Three culinary discoveries last week, made with Lisa, all clustered around Orwell Bay, east of Charlottetown, and each worthy of a visit.

1. The Boys Comfort Cuisine in Earnscliffe was a referral from our friend Sue, who’s a regular customer. Partners relocated from culinary Montreal, and during COVID they converted their garage into a commercial kitchen. They sell frozen food to go; food, as their name suggests, that sits on the lasagna-mac and cheese-butter chicken axis. We had their lasagna for supper on Saturday, with leftovers for lunch on Sunday, and it was everything you’d lasagna to be. You can drop by their Earnscliffe in person, or pick up their wares at Discounters stores across the Island. And while you’re in Earnscliffe, find your way to Cherrycliff Park, a gem of an oceanside place that’s quite unlike any other on PEI.
2. Country Taste Kitchen and Bakery in Belfast is part of the same family that brings you Riverview Country Market in Charlottetown. They make an excellent espresso, tasty baked goods, and have a lovely large gazebo on the front lawn under which you may consume same.
3. Bar Vela Pizzeria & Mercato in Point Prim makes the best pizza on Prince Edward Island, no exaggeration: lovely dough you can lose yourself inside, tomato sauce that’s pitch-perfect, interesting ingredients on top; oh my. It’s all made in a jet black shipping container, tucked into an unassuming barnyard on a property about halfway between the highway at Point Prim lighthouse. Take-out only, though they have picnic tables and beanbag toss games for your dining pleasure. Surprisingly, they are open year round (suggested eating location in midwinter: your car; this is the kind of pizza you eat within minutes of it leaving the oven). I cannot tell you how happy it made me to eat this pizza; it is amazing.

It’s worth an early-autumn visit to all three some day soon; you will not be disappointed.